My Blessings

It has come to my attention of late, there is a strong possibility that I might be turning into a cranky aul one.  I can be a right moan-y hole sometimes and I don’t seem to be improving.  I have heard it said, and I am in agreement, that you shouldn’t waste your energy worrying about what others think of you.  It is the opinion you have of yourself that is important.  Well, some days I don’t like myself.  I don’t like that I forget not to sweat the small stuff.  I forget that my boys are young but growing fast and this time will never, ever come round again.  I forget that cooking and cleaning will always win the battle so I should just give up and stop worrying about the Screecher Creatures falling down in a dead faint.  They haven’t died of starvation yet.  Even Screecher Creature No. 1 who was pretty much exclusively breastfed for 13 months and ate nothing but toilet roll tubes, tissue paper, newspapers, the contents of the recycling bin, cardboard and the odd yogurt for variety.  They’re still growing like steam so they must be ingesting something and they certainly have never noticed if the floor needs to be swept or washed.  But mostly, I don’t like that I forget my blessings.  I would have thought it hard to forget about something that is staring you in the face on a daily basis, but there you go.  I am well and truly blessed.  Blessed with four gorgeous, healthy, vibrant boys.  Mister Husband and I only had to discuss, in the broadest of terms, extending our family and I found I was pregnant within months.  I have had very happy and healthy pregnancies.  Screecher Creature No. 3’s entrance into the world was one of drama and urgency but he was perfect.  Yes, times are hard but they’re hard for everyone. Sometimes you just need to put your head down, point your arse to the wind and keep going.  Tomorrow is always another day.  So, I have decided that instead of being a glass half empty person, I am going to give the glass half full theory a shot and see how I get on.  I also have great faith in my back up plan. This being a daily pill pop of Super Evening Primrose Oil and Vitamin B6. I’m expecting wonderful things altogether from that little concoction.

It is widely recommended, or so I am told, that if you practice a little exercise each day, it really puts you back on track and makes you take better stock of all you have.  It’s called a Trio of Blessings and before you retire at night, you make a note of three things that happened that day. They can be as momentous or as bite sized as you like, they happened to you and if you are able to write them down, it means they’ve made their mark.  For example, on one particular day Screecher Creature No. 2 had his grommets fitted and announced that he could hear everyone again.  Screecher Creature No. 4 cut another tooth with relative ease.  And thirdly I knocked another minute off my walk slash run.   You get the picture.  I believe this is also an exercise used by those suffering from depression.  So I had a little think to myself and came up with a whole lot more than a Trio of Blessings.  The following are my blessings.  Please note this is not a definitive list.

•   I love when any of the boys come into our room first thing in the morning, crawl into bed beside me and cuddle up for ten minutes before we start the day.
•   I feel blessed when our 14 month old wraps his arms around my neck for a hug when I lift him out of his cot in the morning
•   It’s a great feeling when Screecher Creature No. 1 hugs me at the school gates at home time.
•  I get all warm and fuzzy when the Awesome Foursome fight over me.  I particularly like when the baby pushes the others out of his way if he wants a cuddle.
•   I smile when Screecher Creature No. 1 refers to me as “his lady.”
•   Ditto when the same fella gives out to his daddy for giving out to me.
•   Being a mammy is the greatest feeling in the world.
•   It is a special blessing being pregnant and coming out the other end to give birth.
•   Breastfeeding could very nearly be described as my hobby!  It’s a gift.
•   Sometimes I smile like an idiot when I watch our kids sleeping.
•   When you hear your kids shriek with laughter, it makes everything in the world rosy.  Equally as nice is the sound of blessed silence when they are in bed for the night! 
•   Nothing beats the way the baby wakes up from his afternoon nap; with mad fuzzy, bed head hair, a wide brown eyed stare and a smile.  He’s immediately ready to get at the toys on the floor.
•   Except maybe the way Screecher Creature No. 3 wakes up from his sometimes afternoon nap; with crazy, curly, damp hair and a sleepy blue eyed stare.  He needs a ten minute cuddle to iron out the sleep kinks before he’s ready to go outside and play. 
•    I love telling the kids there is going to be a trip to the park or the pool or that it’s nana day.  Their whoops are something else.

I could think of hundred’s more to add here, but for now I’ll concentrate on the important ones. My time with my kids and my health.  Because when you’ve got that, you’ve got everything.